Westerlund says studies show young adults engage in behaviors they don't feel are sexual assault, but are, and repeat them several times. The police chief knows those behaviors well.

"You do see the house party scenario quite a bit," said Scott Drewlo, UMD Police Director.

He says often a guy takes a drunken girl, often someone new to campus, into a locked bedroom or bathroom, where there are no witnesses.

"It's almost has the flavor of it's being passed on somehow, this is how you do it," said Drewlo.

"I'm sure the people that do the actual assaulting probably aren't like regular assaulters, It's like oh hey here's this drunk girl," said UMD freshman Solveig Bloomquist.

"They chose people who they knew were naïve, looking up to older upper classmen," said Westerlund. "A lot of women who find themselves in these situations then blame themselves."

"I know couple of people that say if you're dressing trashy and you get raped it's still partially your fault," said Michael Chidester, adding he doesn't believe that himself.

"Stranger sexual assaults occurs, but so often it's somebody you know and it's happening in your house," said Westerlund.

Knowing the perpetrator can keep victims from reporting, and with alcohol a usual factor, consent can be blurred

"Is he drunk too?" said Kindt. Yeah that's a good question," said Bloomquist.

"Really the most common and readily available date-rape drug is alcohol," said Drewlo.

Underage drinkers often fear that reporting will mean they get in trouble.

"They're not that interested in writing you a consumption ticket if you've been a victim of a sexual assault," said Drewlo.

It's not only one gender taking advantage of drunken co-eds.

"He was too drunk to say no and some girl pointed him into her room, He felt violated the next day," said Chidester about a story his friend told him.

"The courts now in Minnesota recognize that's not always the case that being intoxicated at that level you're probably not able to form willful consent," said Drewlo.

"Not saying no doesn't mean yes," said Westerlund.

Willful consent can be hard to prove in court.

"Especially if there is a delay or evidence isn't collected," said Westerlund.

"It's very important that if someone's a victim of a sexual assault to get in right away and give them a chance to collect evidence," said Drewlo.

A process Westerlund says can be rough for victims, telling and retelling their stories and undergoing an invasive physical exam.And it can be a lengthy process to get a conviction.

"Sometimes it's two years later, and it's finally making it's way to court and the victim says I'm in a different place in my life," said Westerlund.

There's also social factors.

"Embarrassment," said Kindt. "Seriously, If i was assaulted, I would not want my friends to know about it. I wouldn't want my parents to know about it."

It's an approach that allows the experience to become just another part of college life.

"It's an awful rite of passage that shouldn't be," said Westerlund.

The students we talked to also said they don't know what steps to take or where to turn if they're assaulted.

Advocates are working to educate students on what to do and how to prevent sexual assault, especially those new to campuses.

The SANE progam, or Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, has also made reporting and collecting biological evidence free and more efficient and supportive for victims, regardless of whether they decide to press charges.